Lecturer in Human Resource Management / Organisational Behaviour

Beate Wilmshurst started as Teaching Fellow in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour at Exeter University in October 2010.

Before joining Exeter University, she worked as STEM Partnership Manager for the South West region, managing a project funded by the Regional Development Agency: engaging employers, educators and strategic partners across the South West, in order to improve linkages between business and education, with the ultimate aim of helping to improve skill levels and employment rates in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

For most of her career, though, Beate has worked in higher education at the Universities of Portsmouth, Bournemouth and London South Bank, teaching a range of subjects in the areas of Human Resource Management, Skills Development, and Organisational Behaviour. She has also worked as a consultant delivering training and workshops on Team Building, Project Management and Cross-Cultural understanding to clients including Schlumberger, Compaq, Innogy and Eurocontrol.

At South Bank University, Beate managed an EU-funded collaborative, cross-cultural project with partner universities in Germany and India, leading a team of academics from all three countries. As Associate Course Director of the MBA and MSc in International Business, Beate ensured the smooth running of these two courses and had additional responsibility as personal tutor for EU and Indian students. At Bournemouth University, Beate organised the annual Widening Participation Summer School for the Business School and developed material for the online Distance Learning Degree and a web-based Personal / Professional Development Portfolio.

In 2003, Beate gained a MA in Management Learning from Lancaster University. Her research for this degree focused on adult learning in organisations, including Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Informal and Incidental learning at work, Action Learning, learning as social construction, and Communities of Practice. She also has a Coaching qualification and uses these skills to help learners work through barriers and take steps to achieve realistic goals.

Nationality: German

Qualifications

1st Staats Examen; MA Management Learning

Research interests

How technology can support learning and development

Informal and non-formal learning in organisations

Beate’s interest in technology-supported learning began more than 10 years ago while teaching in London, where she wanted to find a way of making learning materials accessible to students who found it difficult to attend lectures. She was given the opportunity to pilot the use of Blackboard, a virtual learning environment, and developed a blended approach of face-to-face teaching and online materials.

These days, her research focuses on the use and benefits of virtual learning communities and online simulations.

Informal and non-formal learning in organisations is another of her main research interests. Many organisations don’t make full use of the available skills base of their workforce and often there are no systems in place to accredit or recognise the wide range of learning that happens naturally in the workplace. Beate’s aim is to identify instances of good practice in this area and, if appropriate, develop frameworks that help organisations recognise skills and learning outside the training room.

Beate’s teaching focuses on people in organisations: from Human Resource Management in general, to Learning and Development in particular. She prefers an interactive style of learning and teaching, so be prepared to join in and contribute to the discussions.